The Nissan Path

I bought a Pathfinder that had the transmission replaced and also the radiator by-pass. I notice that my oil pressure gage is just above the low mark when it is at idle and in drive with my foot on the brake. It goes up to half way between the two marks when normal driving. When I come to a stop it drops back down. I just looked at and drove 2 other Pathfinders and their gages were above the half way mark. They are about 3/4 the way to high.
Anyone have issues like this? I appreciate any input you guys might have.....

jlwardn wrote:I bought a Pathfinder that had the transmission replaced and also the radiator by-pass. I notice that my oil pressure gage is just above the low mark when it is at idle and in drive with my foot on the brake. It goes up to half way between the two marks when normal driving. When I come to a stop it drops back down. I just looked at and drove 2 other Pathfinders and their gages were above the half way mark. They are about 3/4 the way to high.
Anyone have issues like this? I appreciate any input you guys might have.....

This is normal. The 2005s have a real gauge, after 2005 they went to a 'dummy' gauge.

Mine is pinned at the top end now, the sender is screwed. Haven't gotten around to replacing it yet. If yours is acting eratically, I would replace it. Its a 5 minute job. The dealer sells the part for $120 up here, but you can get it from Rock Auto for $60.

Make sure to buy the right one, the 'dummy' gauge for the 06+ won't work, the harness and connector is different.

i have an 05 and yes it sits towrds the lower end on the gauge at idle and then goes up to halfway to 3/4 during normal driving

The 2 other Pathfinders were both 2005. Both gauges moved to about 3/4 level upon start up and never moved up or down from idle to higher speeds.

martyf250 wrote:i have an 05 and yes it sits towrds the lower end on the gauge at idle and then goes up to halfway to 3/4 during normal driving

My truck behaves like this... Not sure what the deal is with the others.

jlwardn wrote:The 2 other Pathfinders were both 2005. Both gauges moved to about 3/4 level upon start up and never moved up or down from idle to higher speeds.

How long did you drive them? My 05 will stay in the middle until the engine is warm and then drop down in idle or coasting.

disallow wrote:This is normal. The 2005s have a real gauge, after 2005 they went to a 'dummy' gauge.

Make sure to buy the right one, the 'dummy' gauge for the 06+ won't work, the harness and connector is different.

What does a "dummy" gauge do?

nutbar78 wrote:

disallow wrote:This is normal. The 2005s have a real gauge, after 2005 they went to a 'dummy' gauge.

Make sure to buy the right one, the 'dummy' gauge for the 06+ won't work, the harness and connector is different.

What does a "dummy" gauge do?

The gauge in the 05s showed the real time pressure. If it changed even slightly, the gauge would move. For instance, at idle, the gauge would read on the low side, and if you gunned it with the engine cold, it would go to the high side.

This required a 3-wire harness from the oil pressure sender to the BCU, and in turn to the gauge on the dash.

In the 06+ Pathy's they went to a 'dummy' gauge. This sender only has 2 wires, and basically brings the gauge on the dash to the 'normal' level for the driver to see. Only if the pressure dropped below the minimum requirement, did the gauge move, but at this point, your oil light is already on.

Hope that adequately explains it. I personally prefer the non-dummy version, I'd rather know whats going on. However, you can see Nissans reasoning to change, they probably got a lot of service on warranty for people worried that their oil pressure was too low or high. Also, it looks like the 2-wire version of the sender is about 1/8 the cost of the 3-wire.

t

disallow wrote:The gauge in the 05s showed the real time pressure. If it changed even slightly, the gauge would move. For instance, at idle, the gauge would read on the low side, and if you gunned it with the engine cold, it would go to the high side.

This required a 3-wire harness from the oil pressure sender to the BCU, and in turn to the gauge on the dash.

In the 06+ Pathy's they went to a 'dummy' gauge. This sender only has 2 wires, and basically brings the gauge on the dash to the 'normal' level for the driver to see. Only if the pressure dropped below the minimum requirement, did the gauge move, but at this point, your oil light is already on.

Hope that adequately explains it. I personally prefer the non-dummy version, I'd rather know whats going on. However, you can see Nissans reasoning to change, they probably got a lot of service on warranty for people worried that their oil pressure was too low or high. Also, it looks like the 2-wire version of the sender is about 1/8 the cost of the 3-wire.

t

Very clear, thanks. I have to '05 so I know what you are saying. This gauge moves all over the place. I too like the real time info. Now if only my MPG's were real time!

My 06 Gauge moves up / down realtime too. Was it a mid year change in 06 ?

yes it could have been. Thats probably why Nissan asks for the VIN before telling you which part you need... Check yours, is it 2 pin or 3 pin? really easy to check.

How can I check ?

unplug the connector. 2 wire = dummy. 3 wire = real. At least thats what i've read. There was a post on this over at ClubFrontier, but I can't find it right now.

The real time fluctuation of the oil pressure is SOP per the Tech I trust my 05 Path with.

Just wanted to post my experience - I am original owner of a 2005 LE Pathfinder 74,500 miles on it. My oil pressure gauge was usually consistent and at idle was about 1/4 of the way up on the gauge and at 2500 rpm would be about 3/4 of the way up on the gauge (after warm up).

I started to notice that after the truck had been warmed up the oil pressure at idle was almost none the needle was at the bottom of the gauge but no warning light about low oil pressure. I have an extended warranty so the dealer I usually go to said it was faulty oil pressure gauge so they replaced it and there was no change on the gauge readings. I asked if they checked the oil pressure and they said yes and it might be the oil pump. I didn't believe them so I decided to try a different dealer.

The new dealer actually performed an oil pressure test this time and at idle it was only 6psi - should be about 15psi. At 3000 rpm it was only 26psi and should be around 45psi. They diagnosed it to a problem with a seal that was behind the rear timing cover. I had read about a few others with this same problem on other forums. So after replacing the timing cover/seals and they went ahead and replaced the timing chain and guides the final bill was about $2500, luckily the extended warranty covered it all.

So my recommendation if you are concerned about the oil pressure gauge readings have an oil pressure test done to confirm that there are no problems.

Hope this helps!